Currently Untitled
by 9haharharley1
Summary: BETTER SUMMARY INSIDE. Jessi and Jason are trick-or-treating when they are forced to run away from a pack of bullies. The forest they run to is rumored to be haunted. But what happens when they stumble upon a land of magic and wonder? No romance!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Do you see my name when the credits role? Do you? Huh?! I didn't think so.

**Warning:** Hideous writing. OCs. Mentions of rape. Don't like, don't read. I will not be held responsible to what happens to your brains if you read the hideous hideousness. *nods sagely*

**Summary: (I suck at these) **Jessi is a nine year old girl. Jason is her thirteen year old babysitter. Jason is payed to watch out for her, and over the few years he's been babysitting, the two have become great friends. On Halloween, Jason agrees to take Jessi trick-or-treating so her parents can go to a party. While taking a break from their fun, some bullies from Jason's school ambush them, forcing Jason and Jessi to run into the 'haunted' woods surrounding their tiny town. The deeper into the forest they go, the darker it gets. Until the two kids stumble upon a circle of trees with carvings symbolizing the seven holidays on them. Because it just so happens to be Halloween, Jessi opens the pumpkin-shaped door. Both of the kids are then swept up into a land that could only be seen in their wildest dreams; ful of magic and wonder....

**Note:** My first _TNBC_ fic. Please be nice.

* * *

"Hey, Mommy, when is Jason going to get here? I want to go trick-or-treating _now_!" a little girl of about the age of nine asked.

Her mother, dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein, smiled down at her, amused. "He should be here any minute, Jessi," she soothed. "Why don't you go grab your bucket? Then come back down and sit on the couch so I can put your make-up on."

The little girl, Jessi, nodded enthusiastically and ran up the stairs to her room to grab a small orange and black bucket in the shape of a Jack O' Lantern. The day was Halloween, and Jessi's favorite holiday. She didn't know why she liked it, just that she loved being able to dress up as whatever for one night, get candy, and scare people. She knew she wasn't a very scary person. She was actually quite sweet.

Once she got to her room, Jessi grabbed the bucket that was lying on her bed and ran back out and down the stairs, trying not to trip over the heels she wore. Her dress was black with a tattered purple bow tied and hanging loosely around her neck. Her sleeves were tattered as well, and stopped a little past her elbows. The ends of her dress were tattered and stopped at her knees. A purple ribbon served as sort of a belt and was tied around her waist. She wore black and purple striped leggings and the heels on her boots were about two inches off the ground. The boot itself went as high as the middle of her shin. On her head was a black witch's hat with a tattered purple ribbon tied around the base. Her outfit went nicely with her dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Jessi ran down the stairs and went into the living room. Her mom motioned for her to sit on the couch and pulled out some black eyeliner and eye shadow. While she was applying the eyeliner, the door bell rang. Jessi's father walked out of the kitchen with a bowl of candy, dressed as Count Dracula, and answered it.

Outside the door stood a boy of about thirteen with spiked blonde hair, a baggy brown jacket, a tight black long-sleeved shirt and baggy black pants, black gloves, and heavy black boots. Covering his face was an old, beat up, white hockey mask. Dark blue eyes were looking up at Jessi's dad through the eyeholes. A fake machete was held in his right hand covered in dried fake blood. In his left hand was a pillowcase (1). He raised his hand to lift his mask. "Hey, Mr. DeMore." He smiled and raised the pillowcase. "Trick-or-treat!"

Mr. DeMore smiled at him and dropped a few pieces of candy into the bag. "Hello, Jason. The costume matches your name," he said with a small chuckle.

Jason shrugged and stepped into the house. "It was my friend's idea. Said it would be ironic."

Mrs. DeMore applied the finishing touches to her daughter's eye shadow and stood up straight. Jessi ran over and hugged Jason around the waist. Jason patted her back. "Thank you so much for taking her out tonight while we go to your parents' party," Mrs. DeMore said.

Jason smiled. "No problem. None of my friends wanted to go trick-or-treating anyway. They say we're getting to old for it." He shook his head.

Jessi let go of him in order to look at his face. She raised an eyebrow. "But my big sister didn't stop trick-or-treating 'til she got out of high school."

Jason laughed. "That's because you two are obsessed with Halloween!" Jessi smiled brightly.

After saying good-bye to her parents, Jason and Jessi walked down the steps and out onto the sidewalk. Jason's mask was pulled back down over his head. Jason explained what his costume was supposed to be to Jessi as they walked to and from houses. By the time they were done with the street, Jessi's bucket was filled with candy. It was only eight o'clock.

Jason asked her if she wanted to take a short break. The two walked to a nearby park settled in front of an old, dead forest. Everyone in town said the woods were haunted. Kids would go in on dares, but they would not go very far back, nor would they stay for very long. The trees were very tall and the branches were twisted and curled. The gnarled roots of the trees stuck out of the ground by a few inches.

Once they reached the park, they sat down on a bench a few yards away from the forest and stared at the old trees. Jason pulled out a Butterfinger from his pillowcase, while Jessi sucked on a Jawbreaker. They sat in silence while they rested.

"Why do you think the woods are haunted?" Jessi suddenly asked.

Jason looked down at her. He pulled out a red sucker from his bag and unwrapped it. "What makes you ask that?" He stuck the sucker in his mouth.

Jessi shrugged and swallowed down the M&Ms she had in her mouth. "I don't know," she said. "I over heard some kids at school talking about why it's haunted. No one really seems to know, and I was wandering what you thought."

"Hmm… I don't know," said Jason. "I never really thought about it. I just kind of accepted it. What do they say at school?"

Jessi took of her hat and looked at the sky. Her brown hair blew back a little as a breeze picked up. "It was just some boys in my class. They said that a long, long time ago, a bunch of townspeople went in there. They said that they were never seen again. And that anyone who ventured in there was never seen again."

"Anything else?"

"Just that those old townspeople now haunt the forest."

Jason stared down at her. "You worry me sometimes." Jessi smiled up at him as he stood up. "So you want to head to the next street and get more candy?"

Jessi nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!" She put her hat back on then took the hand that Jason offered her.

The two kids had taken the first few steps away from the bench when they heard leaves crunching a few yards in front of them. Then laughter. Jessi grabbed Jason's had as she started. Jason held it tightly in his bigger hand. His grip on his pillowcase - which was now holding his machete - tightened, even though he knew it wouldn't do any damage.

"Who's there?" Jason called.

"Aw, lookey here, boys," a rude voice laughed. "Little Jason Bernard has a girlfriend." A tall, muscular fourteen year old with black hair and brown eyes stepped out of the darkness and made his way over to Jessi and her friend. He was followed by four other boys.

Jason gulped and sneaked a quick peek down at Jessi. "When I say 'run'," he whispered to her, "I want you to run." Jessi looked up at him questioningly, but didn't say anything. She stepped behind Jason a little and eyed the older boys.

"So, Bernard," the lead boy started, "who is she? Did you get stuck on a blind date?"

"Hey, Bobby," Jason said with as much courage as he could muster. He wanted to be brave for Jessi. "I'm getting paid to take her trick-or-treating tonight," he stated calmly.

Bobby's lackeys snickered. Bobby smirked. "Aw, you have to baby-sit on Halloween? Poor you." He and his boys got closer.

Jason backed Jessi towards the tree line of the woods. Jessi didn't understand what was going on or why these boys were being mean to her friend. After nearly two years of baby-sitting, Jason had become something like a brother to her and Jason considered her a little sister. Neither wanted the other to get hurt by these boys.

Jessi got more and more worried as they got closer to the forest.

"She's a pretty little thing, don't you think boys?" Bobby asked (2). The boys nodded and laughed.

Jason stared at Bobby in horror. "She's only nine years old!" he shouted. Bobby shrugged and smirked. "You're sick and twisted!"

"We'll take your candy while we're at it," one of the lackeys said. "Saves us from looking like total losers while still getting candy."

Jessi suddenly screamed as a hand grabbed her by the arm. She looked up to see one of Bobby's boys smirking down at her. She struggled and kicked and screamed at him to let go.

Jason turned around quickly. "Let her go!" he yelled. He was a bout to lunge at the guy but was punched in the back of the head by Bobby. He fell face first onto the ground.

"Jason!" yelled Jessi. She kicked out at the guy holding her. He yelped loudly and fell to the ground, holding his hands between his legs.

Jason looked up at her from his spot on the ground. He groaned slightly when she was able to get free from her captor. "Jessi, run!" he managed to get out.

Jessi bit her lip. She was about to argue before she saw the other boys advancing on her, one going to help his fallen comrade. Bobby was closing in on Jason.

Hand tightening its grip on her Jack O' Lantern bucket, Jessi turned and ran into the woods.

Jason watched her go. He heard Bobby's footsteps grow closer and rolled over onto his back. He grabbed hold of the pillowcase serving as a makeshift candy bag and, once he was close enough, threw it up and smacked Bobby in the face. Bobby yelped in surprise and was thrown back onto his butt. Jason got up quickly and ran after Jessi, ignoring the dizziness behind his eyes.

The two boys that had run after Jessi stood at the tree line of the woods, debating whether or not they should still go after her. They turned around at their leader's yelp, and saw Jason run right by them into the woods, hockey mask hanging loosely around his neck, and the pillowcase with the machete inside smacking his legs. The boys forgot about the escapees and went over to help their leader.

Bobby sat up and spit on the ground, glaring up at his four lackeys, one of them pink-faced and walking with a slight limp. "Well?" he shouted. "Go after them!"

"But…" one started. "They went into the woods…"

Bobby stared at them. Then, slowly, a smirk broke out onto his face. He started to laugh. "Ha ha! Those idiots!" he cried. "They won't last ten minutes in there! No one has!" He calmed down a little and took the hand that was offered to him and stood up. He chuckled. "We'll wait here for a bit until they come out."

~*~

Jessi continued to run and run and run until her legs were numb and she couldn't breathe. Her breath came out in harsh pants. She turned around to face the way she came. She couldn't see the entrance. All she saw were tall, dead trees, gnarled roots, and twisted and curled branches. There was no fresh grass - no grass at all, even. And not a single leaf on the ground. "What kind of a place is this?" she whispered fearfully.

Light footsteps could be heard running behind her. Jessi quickly ducked behind a tree, afraid it might be one of those bullies. As they got closer, the footsteps stopped. Jessi could hear harsh breathing and she looked out from behind the tree. Jason was bent over double, hands on his knees and his bag on the ground. Jessi nearly cried with relief and came out of hiding to tackle the boy. She hugged him tightly around the waist, afraid he might disappear if she let go.

Jason fell from the shock and added weight to his midsection. Looking down, he saw Jessi curled up into him, shivering. He patted her on the back. Her hat and bucket had been dropped over by the tree she had been hiding behind. He felt his jacket start to get a little wet. He lifted Jessi's chin up with his thumb and forefinger and saw tears making their way down her face.

"Hey, hey. None of that, now," he said comfortingly. He wiped the tears away with the end of his jacket sleeve. "They're not following us. We're safe."

Jessi shook her head, but stopped crying. "No, we're not," she whispered softly. "Look where we're at."

Jason did. He took in the roots, and the trees and the branches, and the all around _deadness_ of the forest. He bit his lip and looked back down at Jessi. He suddenly smiled. "Then we'll just find another way out," he said as brightly as he could. Jessi smiled at his attempt.

She got up off his lap and walked over to get her bucket and hat, placing the latter on top of her head. Jason stood up as well and picked up his bag. He walked over to his charge and took her hand.

Silently, the two walked deeper into the forest.

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(1) Pillowcases make the BEST trick-or-treat bags!

(2) Yes, this kid is one sick son of a bitch.

Please review. Creative flames are welcome. I'll still laugh at them though.^^


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Do you see my name when the credits role? Do you? Huh?! I didn't think so.

**Warning:** Hideous writing. OCs. Don't like, don't read. I will not be held responsible to what happens to your brains if you read the hideous hideousness. *nods sagely*

See first chapter for the summary.

* * *

Jason and Jessi walked silently along in the old forest. They didn't know how long they had been walking and neither had a watch. The deeper they went into the forest, the more creepy and twisted it got. Jason had already tripped once over a root and fell, scraping the palm of his hand. He was inspecting the wound now as they walked.

Jessi walked with her head down, watching for roots so she would not befall the same fate as her friend. Her hand was loosely clasped in Jason's. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Who were those boys that attacked us?" she suddenly asked

Jason looked down at her. He sighed. "They were a couple of bullies at my school," he said. "They're not the brightest bunch, but they're really strong. They like to pick on those weaker than them."

"But why?" asked Jessi. "That's really mean."

The older boy sighed. "I don't know, Jessi." He stepped over a large root and lifted Jessi into the air to help her over it. "I guess they just have nothing better to do."

He looked up into the sky. The moon was in a nearly the same position it had been in when they had first run into the forest. It seemed that they had been walking for hours when it had only been ten minutes. He observed his surroundings. It was the same scene everywhere he looked.

"I think we're lost," Jessi said after a moment. To Jason, she didn't seem to be too worried.

He had to agree with her, though. Neither of them knew where they were, and this was the farthest anyone in their little town had ever gone. "I think you're right," he agreed. "Although we have been walking in a straight line this whole time. We could probably just turn around and walk right out of here."

Jessi grinned. "We'd probably get more lost than we already are."

"You're probably right." They were silent. "Some Halloween, huh?" Jason asked lightly.

Jessi nodded up at him, little grin still on her face. "Some Halloween."

Jason looked down at his feet and Jessi stared forward. But she noticed something. Up ahead of them, still quite a ways away, was a circle of trees. A perfect circle. They were dead, like every other tree, but on the tree farthest away was just the tinniest bit of color. Her curiosity rising, Jessi let go of Jason's hand, holding her candy bucket tightly, and ran to the circle of trees. She held her hat so it wouldn't fly off.

Jason looked up as Jessi let go of his hand. He noticed her running to the cluster of trees and quickly ran after her, his pillowcase holding his candy and fake machete smacking against his leg.

As she got closer, Jessi stopped and walked slowly into the circle. She stopped when she stood in the middle and examined the trees. She heard Jason walking up next to her. The two of them stood in wonderment.

Each tree was just as dead as every other one. They were tall with twisted and curled branches and gnarled roots sticking out of the ground. But these trees had color to them. The color came in the shape of an object carved into the tree that Jessi and Jason realized represented the seven main holidays; a turkey, Christmas tree, heart, firework, Jack O' Lantern, a cloverleaf, and an egg. The Christmas tree was the most beautifully carved one. There was a handle on each carving, as well; giving the two kids the impression of a door. The two stood in silence.

Jason looked down at Jessi. "Want to open one?" he asked. Jessi smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Which one?" He walked around the circle to examine the doors better. He stopped in front of the Christmas door.

Jessi hummed. She walked over to the door in the shape of a firework, before promptly ignoring it. She then stood in front of the Jack O' Lantern, which matched the bucket she was holding. "Since its Halloween," she started, "I think we should open this one." She ran her small hand over the pumpkin's smile, the bark smooth under her fingers.

Jason walked over and stood next to her. "I think that's logical." He reached for the nose, but stopped a few inches away. "Here goes nothing," he mumbled to himself. He twisted the knob and pulled.

The door opened smoothly on invisible hinges. Jessi stepped forward, Jason's free hand on her shoulder, and they peered inside. The tree was hollow. They looked up and down and sideways, but saw nothing. Jason took a step back, bringing Jessi with him. "Well, that was disappointing," he said sadly. Jessi nodded her head in agreement.

Jason was about to close the door, when a sudden heavy wind picked up. It blew from inside the tree. Dead leaves blew out and circled around the children. Jason tried to back away, but found that he could not. The force of the wind only became stronger and the kids found themselves being pulled in. Jason held on tightly to Jessi as they were pulled over the edge and into the tree. Jessi tried to scream, but found that she couldn't.

They closed their eyes tightly and held onto one another.

~*~

When Jessi opened her eyes again, she was laying on the ground, her Jack O' Lantern bucket and candy spilt out around her. She sat up and gathered the missing pieces back into her bucket. That's when she noticed that Jason was unconscious.

She quickly ran over to him and shook him awake. "Jason! Wake up!" she yelled frantically.

Jason slowly opened his eyes. He put a hand to his head and looked up at Jessi. "Ugh… Jess? Where are we?" he asked groggily. He sat up slowly.

Jessi took a quick look around her. There were headstones everywhere, and not too far away from them was the creepy forest they had just been in. Quite a ways away from them was a giant hill that ended in a spiral. Pumpkins and Jack O' Lanterns were littered around it. On the other side of the graveyard was a tall gate, obviously the way out towards the town she could see in the distance. "I think we're in a graveyard," she told Jason.

Jason pulled his hand away from his head and looked around as well. A shiver went through his body at the all around creepiness of this place. He looked at the dead ground for his pillowcase and checked to make sure all his candy and his machete were in there. Jessi also threw her bucket of candy in there. She made sure her hat was securely on her head before taking Jason's free hand and heading into the nearby town.

As they walked along the winding dirt road, the two grew more scared than they'd ever been. Jack O' Lanterns was impaled on spikes and they could see ghosts hovering in the distance. Real ghosts! Jessi had tightened her hold on Jason's hand, but the two walked on determinedly. Before long, they were able to hear singing. Their fear grew, but so did their curiosity. They actually ran closer and were able to slip through the gate into town.

What they saw made their fear grow to new heights.

The buildings were slanted and twisted and curled and some looked like they would topple over at any point in time. They were gray and black. A guillotine was situated near the entrance gate. They could tell they were close to the town square as they could now hear the music the townspeople were singing to, word for word.

"_-But we're not mean_

_In our town of Halloween_

_In this town,_

_Don't we love it now?_

_Everyone's waiting for the next surprise!"_

Jason and Jessi found that their curiosity would not allow them to run away, only draw them closer. They peeked behind a wall and got a good look at the townspeople. They gasped in horror at what they saw.

Monsters, all of them. A wolf man, vampires, a devil man, undead corpses, witches; it just went on. Jessi drew herself closer to Jason for comfort. Jason could do nothing more than squeeze her hand.

"_Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back_

_And scream like a banshee_

_Make you jump out of your skin_

_This is Halloween_

_Everybody scream_

_Won't you please make way for a very special guy?"_

A straw horse was being pulled through the crowd by a rather large guy who had a hatchet in his head. On the horse's back sat a scarecrow. It wore a tattered red shirt and had a Jack O' Lantern for a head. On its back was a sign that said Halloween town. The children gasped as the scarecrow suddenly moved, grabbing a torch from someone in the crowd. Jessi's free hand flew to her mouth and Jason's hand tightened on hers even more.

"_Our man Jack is king of the pumpkin patch_

_Everyone hail to the pumpkin king now_

_This is Halloween, this is Halloween_

_Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!"_

The scarecrow came alive after that, lighting itself on fire with the torch. It threw the torch away and started dancing atop the horse. It was a somewhat graceful, but extremely eerie, dance, and it had the children knowing that there was more horror to come. Suddenly the scarecrow launched itself up off the horse and into a fountain. The water in the fountain was an eerie bright green, and glowed as if it were radioactive. And for all the children knew, it very well could have been!

"_In this town_

_We call home_

_Everyone hail to the pumpkin song."_

Two kids bent over the edge of the fountain to look in; one a mummy, the other a corpse. But as the two finished singing their part, Jason and Jessi saw the scariest thing they'd ever seen in their entire lives.

Out of the green water rose a skeleton. His head was round and he had no eyes. A wide smile was spread across his face and the few teeth he had were small. The skeleton was extremely tall and extremely skinny, with long thin arms and legs and small feet. He wore a pin-stripe suit with tattered coat-tails. A bat-like bow-tie was tied around his neck, the ends sticking out at awkward angles He had four, long, bony fingers on each hand. Jason gasped at the sight of him. Jessi buried her head in Jason's chest.

The skeleton stepped down from the fountain and took a bow, smiling as everybody clapped and cheered. He grinned as the Mayor came running up to him. "Another terrifying Halloween, Jack!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Jack took another bow. "Why, thank you, Mayor," he said. "Although it wasn't just me. Everyone helped out."

The Mayor's smiling face beamed up at him. "Of course!"

Jack was going to say something else when he noticed movement near the wall that led to the town's main gate. Thinking that it might be Halloween Town's three little miscreants, Jack excused himself from the crowd and made his way over.

Jason's eyes widened fearfully as the tall skeleton made his way over to the two kids' hiding place. Jason held tightly to Jessi's hand and hurriedly led her back through one of the wider holes in the main gate and out of town. Jessi had to force herself to keep up with Jason's longer strides. They ran along the long, winding dirt path to the graveyard. Jason would not stop to rest until they were safely behind the entrance gate and settled safely behind one of the larger grave stones. Both children panted from exertion.

Jason dropped his pillowcase on the ground with a dull _thunk_. Jason and Jessi stared at each other. They started to laugh nervously. It relieved them of some tension. "Some Halloween, huh?" Jason asked with a cheeky grin.

Jessi returned the grin of her own. "Some Halloween." She took off her hat and laid it beside her.

The older boy leaned back against the headstone and sighed. Jessi crawled into his lap. She laid her head against Jason's chest and listened to his heart beat. _Thum-thump, thum-thump, thum-thump_.

"How are we gonna get home?" asked Jessi after a short silence.

"I… I don't know," admitted Jason. They continued to sit in silence.

The cemetery's main gate clanged shut.

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HAHHAHAH!! CLIFFY!!! I NEED IDEAS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!!! HELP WANTED!!!

Creative flames are welcome. I'll still laugh at them though.^^


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